It really does pay to not only find a reputable machine when deciding to go robot but to also consider just how much you are willing to spend and what you want it to do for you.

Not everyone needs a robot vacuum but it’s safe to say most people would like to spend less time doing the chore itself and purchasing of one of these nifty inhabitants could be the answer.

Where to start

Types of surfaces: Some vacuums can detect the surface type and adjust the suction or allow you to switch to turbo to handle the carpet.

Square footage to clean: Most designs can do around 200 square feet, roughly the size of an apartment, before needing recharging.

Furry family members: Most machines can handle a bit of pet hair, but whether you have carpet will also change the type of machine needed to do this well.

Programming: Some are a simple on/off switch. If the unit is noisy but does everything else well, set to clean while you are out.

Cheap: Pure Clean by Sound Around has good reviews and the range starts at around $100. The base model has one button operation, can be put on auto start and has 55 minutes of battery life.

Mid-Range: Neato Botvac D3 can be paired with Google Home and Amazon Alexa and charges itself when tired, and can be controlled with an app. It’s priced at just under $400.

Top of the line: My pick is the iRobot Roomba 980 for $900. Sure there are more expensive models but this one is small enough to vacuum under my bed.

If you have allergies, find a machine with a HEPA filtration. They will remove air-borne particles from the air.

The cheapest ‘robot vacuum’ at $15 is the Clean Robot, but don’t be fooled by the name. It’s not a vacuum, it’s a sweeper. It just sweeps the dust into a compartment and has no suction at all. If you have flat surfaces and small areas, these can be a good compromise but don’t expect too much from it.

In most cases, a robot vacuum isn’t better than a traditional hand-held, but if you are happy to pay more then there are definitely high-end models that will do a better job while allowing you the freedom to sit back and do something more enjoyable with your time.

The numerous benefits of installing dash cams have got people wanting to jump to the ownership bandwagon. What they don’t know is that while dash cams are relatively small, they possess complicated specifications which a layman may find had to decipher. As a result, numerous buyers usually end up disappointed, having fallen for the sales-oriented terms presented to them by coaxing businesspeople whose only job is get items off their stock.

In order to avoid finding yourself in such a situation, it is advisable to get acquainted with dash cam jargon. This will above all save you from possible future disappointment and be time-effective as well. We compiled a list of consideration factors when you go shopping for your next dashboard camera.
GPS

This keeps track of your car’s geographic location in addition to constantly recording the velocity of the vehicle. Thanks to the evolving technology, it is nowadays easy to synchronize GPS data with recorded video clips, which allows drivers to analyze recordings with both location and time stamps.
Wi-Fi

We live in an era of smartphones, and every developer is striving to make their products compatible with these remarkably powerful devices. Having a dash cam that supports Wi-Fi connection opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Using apps installed either on a smartphone or personal computers, users can access footage stored in the camera’s memory effortless. Nonetheless, Wi-Fi connections are not exactly bullet trains.

G-Sensor

Primarily, dash cams are meant to record impact videos. In addition to activating the camera on the instant an impact occurs, some G-Sensors save the video in a read-only format, making it impossible to tamper with the evidence.

SD card

Notably, a significant majority of dashboard cameras do not have inbuilt storage. Rather, they rely on memory expansion cards, most of which are capped at 32GB. Remember, the larger the card’s capacity, the longer the footage it can store at a given time.

Accessories

Every manufacturer often chooses to avail some add-ons in a bid to make their products more appealing to prospective clients. A popular addition among dash cams is the inclusion of a long charging cable, which can go round the windscreen without obscuring the view and dock at the cigarette lighter port.

Ultimately, what you get is heavily dependent on the intended budget. While cheaper options are attractive, they compromise on several essential features. Similarly, some high-end variants do not justify their exorbitant price tags. An in-depth analysis of features presents the most viable option if you want to buy the perfect fit.

Penny Auctions have been getting a lot of attention in recent years. The premise of the Penny Auction is pretty simple. An item that would typically sell for hundreds if not thousands of dollars more is put up for auction for an extremely low starting bid. Bidders gather around for the chance to get the item for a bargain. The final price for the item is kept low due to a unique quirk of Penny Auctions. Every time you place a bid you are charged a small fee, usually a penny, which is often non-refundable. While this might seem innocent enough, note that this is the tip of the iceberg. The ugly side of Penny Auction Sites is that you might not be saving much of your money after all.

Penny Auction websites use a well-known medium to make a lot of money. Auctions are simple, fast, and incredibly addictive for the bidders. The thrill of getting an item for a “bargain” often dictates the bidder’s actions more than rational thinking. Traditional auctions make money one of two ways. Either by obtaining the items on a steep discount and selling them under the retail value or in the vague hope that a bidder will bid significantly more than the retail value. Online Penny Auctions are a little different, but work similarly to the second scenario. Thanks to the fee collected from each bid the auctioneer stands to make a considerable profit even if the Final Selling Price of an item is nowhere near Retail Value.

Let’s use an example to illustrate this point. Say that the auctioneer is selling an item that retails for $100 at a Penny Auction. The starting bid is just a penny with each of the bidders paying a fee of a penny along with their pledged bid if they win the auction. This auction ends with a winning bid of $63. At face value it appears as though the auctioneer lost $37 on the auction. This is not the case. Though the winner paid just $63 and a penny if that was their first bid there were also 6,300 other bidders. Each of these bidders paid the penny fee when they bid. Even though they did not win the item this fee must be paid. So the auctioneer gets the $63 and one penny from the winning bidder along with the fees from every other bidder. In all the auction grossed a little over $126. The auctioneer actually made a profit on this auction even though the winning bidder obtained the item for less than Retail Price.

That’s not all. Many Penny Auction sites charge additional fees on top of the bidding and winning fee. Some require you to pay a monthly fee or access charge even before you begin bidding. Others will charge you a ” Transaction Fee ” or other fees that you might not be aware of until bidding is over. Then some bidders take advantage of legitimate Penny Auctions for their profit. These bidders, commonly known as snipers, wait until the last minute to bump up the price of an auction in an attempt to confuse legitimate bidders or help the auction owner obtain more money. Sometimes the winning bid will be from the auction owner themselves or a friend of the auctioneer who gives them raving reviews to increase their credibility before an actual scam happens. You must err on the side of caution and use your instincts when participating in a Penny Auction. It could be the difference between finding a bargain and falling for an extremely expensive scam.